In my 65 years of reading novels, this is one of the top three.

This is technically a historical novel, but it is so much more. Prescott, an Oxford historian, does not write like an academic. Her craft is writing history, and she does it beautifully, but in this novel the history is totally integrated into the narrative. It is the story of a group of people living during the reign of Henry VIII of England, some rich and noble, some poor and unknown. It is an extraordinarily tragic tale, as Henry's actions establish him as the religious authority in England, as he dissolves the monasteries, brutally puts down a rebellion in the North of England and changes the face of the nation regardless of the impact on individual lives. It's about both human and divine love -- both a spiritual and a transparently human story. I am really surprised that this splendid book is out of print.

This is an old book. I have had my copy over 25 years and I like it so much that I sometimes read it all over again. I was searching for other books by this author when I ran across this. If you like to read historical novels,this is the book for you. The wealth of detail enables the reader to truly experience another age.

Mokole is a book for an addition to werewolf the apocalypse. You must have the "werewolf: the apocalypse" book in order to use this one to it's fullest ability. Mokole is a book about and how to play a were-alligator, were-crocodile, were-moniter lizards, were-gila monsters, were-caiman, and most importantly... they are all were-dragons! The mokole gives you mnesis, an ability to remember back to the time of the dinosaur kings. If you want to look like a big lizard, godzilla, dinosaur, sea serpent, fire breathing dragon, or oriental dragon.. then this is a book for you. The werewolves are the warriors of gaia, the mokole are her memory.

Out of all the kin books for the Wherewolf The Apocalypse game i like this one the most. It gave the much needed variety in the game and allowed for a great game. Allowing characters with these new and interesting powers is great fun, and by adding new sources and titles to your WW library you can laugh and have more fun with your friends that you play with.
I suggest this book to everyone and hope you take my word on it.
great great fun.

This is a great book. It helps to portray the true peril that the changing breeds are in and it also shows what those who truly desire to restore the balance, not just destroy the wyrm (dissolver) are capable of. This book has enthralled me since I bought it and now I really want to get an all Mokole game off the ground (too bad that my compadres insist on involving Bastet, Changeling, and Vamps :P). If you're considering buying it to this point, DO!

I almost feel sorry for Daniel Harvey, the author of the what-has- to-be-somewhat-autobiographical memoir "Adventures of Prescott: Celibate Nympho." If the author does in fact have a history that is similar to his hilarous protagonist's, adolescence must have been hell. Many of us, while mulling over images of the previous night's high school debauchery, have squirmed a guilty squirm on a Sunday morning pew many times over. Of course by the time we were enjoying post mass donuts in the rectory hall, the guilt/hair shirt was off until next Sunday. Harvey's protagonist (self?) had no such luxury, he was the rebellious son of the preacher!

This book is funny in that the reader is afforded a testosterone blurred peek of the world through the eyes of a wild, church-going teen. This book is sad when this same teen chooses to look at himself. It is indeed simultaneously heavy and light. If he hasn't exorcised his demons with this book, I am definetly looking forward reading more Daniel Harvey.

A truth searching novel for all post-fundies. In "....celibate nympho" the main character Jed (or is that Prescott) tries to make sense of the excess baggage he is carrying from his xtian roots through counseling sessions. Within Jed's stories are main themes every post-fundie can identify with. Such as marriage, sexuality, music, the do's and don'ts of adolescent xtian love and the obey and deny attitude according to fundamental doctrine. You'll meet characters tripping on LSD, a guy who changes his name to a biblical one (sortof a detox), young women sunbathing and a bible-belt mama. Through heated conversations between the counselor and her brother-in-law you'll be able to taste two opposite sides of spirituality. Daniel gives the reader an insiders' look into the world of fundamental xtianity, a psycho-analysis in a sense.

Adventures of Prescott... Celibate Nympho will obtain and keep your attention from beginning to end with its realistically funny humor. As the quick but great read goes on, the story and characters unfold smoothly. The classic lines and real life plot are made great by the characters and their individualistic personalities. Though not everybody will find a resonance with the cynical main character named Jed, having siblings can bring your streams of life closer with his. Adventures of Prescott: an original piece of work, full of emotion and worth your time.

We traveled across Wyoming, down the Colorado-Nebraska border, crossed the narrow panhandle of Oklahoma, and continued southward through the high plains to Amarillo and Lubbock. It was long day. Temperatures reached 106 degrees. Our return from Wyoming to east Texas is never easy.

The great plains are awesome, stretching forever in all directions. Barb wire fences, lonely windmills, widely scattered cattle, and some isolated ranch and farm houses are among the few landmarks. How did the early pioneers react to this vast barrier extending from Mexico to Canada?

Walter Prescott Webb's acclaimed history, The Great Plains, is a fascinating examination of how our extensive plains shaped American history. For more than two hundred years settlers had pushed westward, largely along navigable rivers, and tamed a wilderness with the axe, the plow, and the rifle. But in the mid-1800s this westward movement encountered a new world, a vast plain lacking forest, navigable rivers, and adequate rainfall. The lessons of the past few centuries were irrelevant in this new, formidable wilderness.

Webb argues that the Spanish (and later the Mexicans) failure to colonize the area that is now western United States was due to their inability to defeat the plains Indians, especially the Apaches and Comanches in Texas. Travel from San Antonio to Santa Fe was not easy; the route was southward deep into Mexico to Durango and then back west and northward to Santa Fe. The direct route westward across the plains was Indian country.

As the American settlers ventured onto the plains after the Civil War, they were aided by an explosion of innovations, especially the Samuel Colt revolver (tipped the balance away from the Indians), the barb wire fence (made fencing possible), and the self-operating windmill (made water available). And the railroads made freight and livestock transportation possible between the populated, industrialized eastern states and the sparsely populated great plains.

Webb describes in exciting detail the short, remarkable period of the cowboys, the cattle drives, and the cattle barons. Indelibly engraved on the American psyche, this period was already history by 1930 as Webb offered his insightful thoughts on the settlement of our mid-continent.

I can think of only one other history of the American West that compares with this remarkable work, and that is that great book by Ray Allen Billington, Westward Expansion. Before your next travel across our endless plains, I encourage you to read Walter Prescott Webb's fascinating history of The Great Plains.

So many people use the cliche "this is the best book I've ever read" when critiquing it. I mean it. This book, 70 years old this year, is a brilliant historical work. Webb calls the 98th meridian an "institutional fault line" that required alteration or abandonment of all the laws and implements used in pioneering east of the line. Webb offers the windmill, the six-shooter, and barbed wire as three examples of inventive genius that allowed pioneers to settle on the Great Plains. Webb cites Eastern land laws, as well as the old English common law, as impractical when used on the Plains. Interestingly, Webb states that the West was lawless in part because settlers had to disobey these impractical land laws in order to survive on the Plains. Webb examines the Great Plains from a multitude of angles to substantiate his thesis. He successfully defends it, and in the process creates a work that is of great interest to people from many walks of life.

In the mid-1930s, this book won the Loubat Prize as the best work published over a five year period. In 1950, a national panel of historians selected The Great Plains as the most significant historical work by a living author. This book continues to receive attention as reflected in the bibliographies of current books dealing with aspects of the American West.

In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner's essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," outlined his Frontier Theory. Turner asserted that the frontier was the decisive factor in creating an American nation distinct from other nations; that the frontier created dominant traits of individualism, freedom, materialism, originality, et. al. Turner called the frontier a "safety valve" of abundant resources which shopuld be exploited for the benefit of the national good. Turner's theory foresaw progress from the simple to the complex.

Webb's "The Great Plains" modifies Turner's theory by pointing out the steady progression of settlement westward from the timbered and well watered Atlantic Coast to the edge of the Great Plains; the 98th Meridian, an "institutional fault line." Webb contended the great plains were neglected until all lands that were timbered and well watered were taken; that pioneers "jumped" across to the Pacific Slope where they could also employ long-standing techniques that had been successful in the East.

Not until the post Civil War era were pioneers able to settle the great plains (characteristics: a level surface, an absence of timber, and a deficiency of rainfall), and then only by drastically altering or changing their previous frontier techniques. According to Webb, westerners on the great plains became progressive because they relied upon change in order to overcome their harsh environment. The pioneer used what was given him and the results astonished the world.

Great plains pioneers had to build houses without timber, burn fires without wood, carve furrows in soil so matted and tough an ordinary wood or iron plow would snag in the sod or skitter across its surface like a stick over ice, draw water from an arid or semi-arid land, and grow crops that could exist with little water. Webb contends adaptation and innovation in the development and use of new or existing products and techniques allowed the hardy pioneers to conquer their environment. In essence, often reverting from the complex to the simple - "geographic reality."

This book is interesting and easily read. Webb's research ranges from the Indians, Spaniards, Americans, cattle, and water - encompassing the esoteric and the simple. For example, he delves into the Land Law of the West, in all its complexity (written by Webb 68 years ago) and the parallel and distinct differences in sign language used by deaf mutes and the plains Indians.

Webb's scholarly research is reflected in the extensive bibliography that follows each chapter. The index is useful and annotated to identify areas of relationship when warranted.

The accolades given this book over the years is well deserved. Webb's innovative study is fascinating and expands the reader's knowledge of the great plains as it contains a wealth of information on the history of the region. Webb's later book "The Great Frontier" was also influential and controversial. Both books are the hallmark of Walter Prescott Webb's long and distinguished career.

This book gave me tremendous respect for the Silent Striders, the least respected of the Garou Tribes. Learn all about their spiritual roots and why exactly there are no Garou in egypt. Very interesting crossover possibilities into Vampire: The Dark Ages and The Masquerade. This text goes into so much detail about the tribe, even revealing how to name your Strider, and which Egyptian gods were Garou and which were Leeches. Learn about the War of Rage and the reason that Stiders attract wraiths. A definate must-read for fans of The Apocalypse. The best character I ever played was a direct result of reading this book.

The book contains an introduction to being a silent strider in a masterful manner, taking you on a head-first tour of trailblazing fun. The allusions to many epic Egyptian tales and their modified form in the World of Darkness makes this book an uptmost intriguing book to read. For mechanics, the book provides some interesting but balanced fetishes, gifts, and totems. Even the five basic auspice archetypes aren't silly. A good buy overall.

This Tribebook is very nicely put together. It includes a lot of history and cultural information on the Striders as well as the usual new Merits and Flaws and Gifts. I learned quite a bit just reading this one, and I consider it to be money well-spent. The Totems offered were interesting too. I'd say this is a must-have for Storyrellers and dedicated players alike

The book was shipped more faster than I expected. Thanks for your effort.

"What does the future hold for the HR function and for HR practitioners? Many studies have been undertaken to answer this question. However, three of them stand out as being the must comprehensive: (1) the 1995-1996 Hman Resource Planning Society State-of-the-Art Study (R.Eichinger & D.Ulrich); (2) the Penn State Executive Programs Management Skills Assessment-Human Resources, which was conducted between 1985 and 1997 (A.Vicere & R.Prescott); (3) A 21st-Century Vision of Strategic Human Resource Management (W.Rothwell, S.Schechter & S.McLane). A review of tese studies shows that the HR field is on the verge of moving beyond its recently acquired responsibilities for performance consulting and business partnering to assume strategic leadership" (p.26).

In this context, W.J.Rothwell, P.K.Prescott, and M.W.Taylor review these studies as following:

I- 1995-1996 HR Planning Society State-of-the-Art Study.

1. Seven most essential skills for HR executives today:

* Business savvy and acumen

* Leading organizational change initiatives using personal power and indirect influence skills

* Deep and working knowledge of the basic HR technologies

* Global strategic thinking and planning skills

* Change management technology

* Analytical, conceptual, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills

* Financial analysis and costing skills

2. Seven most essential skills for HR executives in the future:

* Master global operating skills

* Business and financial savvy

* Strategic, visioning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills

* Using information technology

* Deep HR technology savvy

* Change management skills

* Organizational effectiveness

II- Penn State Executive Program Mnagement Skills Assesment-Human Resources (1997)

1. Six general roles of the new HR leaders: Partner, problem solver, model manager, oracle, conduit, and change agent.

2. Most important competencies of the HR leader:

* Is committed to the success of the organization

* Acts consistently in a manner that instills trust

* Is an effective listner

* Exhibits high standards of performance

* Can manage conflict effectively

* Works effectively with other managers outside the HR function

* Recruits and selects high-quality professionals

* Communicates effectively both orally and in writing

* Understands the overall corporate mission

* Develops HR plans that are clearly linked to the mission and strategy of business units

III- A 21st-Century Vision of Strategic Human Resource Management (1995-1996): The results of the study indicate differences between the most important present and future competencies required for success by HR leaders (see pp.29-30, and Appendix 1).

Within this general framework, they write that "taken together, these three studies provide compelling evidence that HR practitioners of the future must demonstrate exemplary leadership skills if they are to be successful. For HR practitioners, it is no longer enough to be a compliance-oriented practitioner, a supportive, or even a performance consultant. Exemplary HR practitioners of the future will be leaders who are capable of demonstrating a new value-added component to their organizations by managing and developing knowledge capital. By comparing the studies (just summarized above), we can see that six key roles for HR leaders have emerged: change agent, HR strategist, business strategist, HR functional aligner, partner to general managers, and problem solver and consultant."

Highly recommended.

Following an initial, probing discussion of the history and present problems plaguing human resource management, the authors present a vision of a new HR function. They carry these ideas forward in terms of six trends: the advance of technology; globalization; cost containment; increasing speed in market change; the increasing importance of knowledge capital; and the overall pace and scope of change. They discuss how to apply insights about these trends to shaping and leading the HR function, specifically in terms of action plans and the requisite leadership competencies to implement these plans. The book contains work sheets for guiding professionals in action planning. Importantly, the results of research underlying the book are included. A worthy contribution to the human resource management field and something of a career heads-up for HR practitioners.

Until I read this book, I thought I knew everything about Spenser, but Norton has done it again! Insightful and interesting,this anthology of criticism covers everything from "The Faerie Queene" to all the other things Spenser wrote. I had always been a Chaucer hound,but now I've converted to the Spenserian camp. Partake of this grand work and be saved!

EDMUND SPENSER'S POETRY : Authoritative Texts and Criticism. Third Edition. Selected and Edited by Hugh Maclean and Anne Lake Prescott. 842 pp. London & New York : W. W. Norton & Company, 1993.

Although everyone has heard of Edmund Spenser's amazing narrative poem, 'The Faerie Queene,' it's a pity that few seem to read it. To a superficial glance it may appear difficult, although the truth is that it's basically a fascinating story that even an intelligent child can follow with enjoyment and interest.

It appears difficult only because of Spenser's deliberately antique English. He needed such an English because he was creating a whole new dimension of enchantment, a magical world, a land of mystery and adventure teeming with ogres and giants and witches, hardy knights both brave and villainous, dwarfs, magicians, dragons, and maidens in distress, wicked enchanters, gods, demons, forests, caves, and castles, amorous encounters, fierce battles, etc., etc.

To evoke an atmosphere appropriate to such a magical world, a world seemingly distant in both time and place from ours, Spenser created his own special brand of English. Basically his language is standard Sixteenth Century English, but with antique spellings and a few medievalisms thrown in, along with a number of new words that Spenser coined himself. The opening lines of the poem are typical :

"A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine, / Y cladd in mightie armes and silver shielde, / Wherein old dints of deepe wounds did remaine, / The cruell markes of many a bloudy fielde...." (page 41).

If, instead of reading with the eye, we read with the ear or aloud, the strange spellings resolve themselves into perfectly familiar words such as clad (clothed), mighty, arms, shield, deep, cruel, marks, bloody, field. And "Y cladd" is just one of those Spenserian medievalisms that simply means "clad" or clothed (i.e., wearing).

The only two words in this passage that might cause problems for the beginner are "pricking" and "dints," and it doesn't take much imagination to realize that these must refer, respectively, to 'riding' (i.e., his horse) and 'dents.' But if you can't guess their meaning, in the present edition a quick glance to the right at their explanatory glosses will soon apprize you of it, and will save you the trouble of searching for their meaning elsewhere.

Once you've used the side glosses for a little while, progress through Spenser's text becomes a snap. And learning a few hundred words is a small price to pay for entrance into one of the most luxuriant works ever produced by the Western imagination, and one that once entered you will often want to return to.

The present Norton Critical Edition has been designed for college students, but will appeal to anyone who is looking for an abridged Spenser which gives maximum help with the language, and who might also like to read a little of the best recent criticism.

The first part of the book, besides giving almost 500 large pages of annotated selections from 'The Faerie Queene' which amount to well over half of Spenser's complete text, also includes a generous selection from Spenser's other poetry : The Shephearde's Calendar; Muipotmos : or The Fate of the Butterflie; Colin Clouts Come Home Againe; Amoretti; and the beautiful Epithalamion and Prothalamion. An Editor's Note exploring important issues follows each selection, and all obscure words have been given convenient explanatory glosses in the right margins.

The second part of the book consists mainly of a wide range of Twentieth-Century Criticism, and contains twenty-five critical essays on various aspects of Spenser, many by noted scholars such as A. Bartlett Giamatti, Thomas P. Roche Jr., Northrop Frye, A. C. Hamilton, Isabel MacCaffrey, Paul Alpers, Louis Martz, and William Nelson. The book is rounded out with A Chronology of Spenser's Life and a very full Selected Bibliography.

Criticism undoubtedly has its value and at times can be stimulating, but Spenser, as one of England's very greatest writers, was of course writing not so much for critics as for you and me. Admittedly his language can be a bit tricky at first, and he certainly isn't to be rushed through like a modern novel. His is rather the sort of book that we wish would never end.

His pace is leisurely and relaxed, a gentle flowing rhythmic motion, and that's how he wants us to read him. To get the hang of things, try listening to one of the many available recordings. And when you hit a strange-looking word there will be no need to fret or panic, for a quick glance to the right at its gloss will soon apprize you of its meaning.

So take Spenser slowly, and give his words a chance to work their magic. Let him gently conduct you through his enthralling universe, one that you will find both wholly strange and perfectly familar, since human beings and their multifarious doings are Spenser's real subject, and somewhere in one of his enchanted forests you may one day find yourself.

The border between the United States and Canada is the longest unfortified and unguarded border between two sovereign nations in the world. The relations between the two countries is friendly and the countries are solid allies and trading partners. To travel to and in Canada is a joy and very rewarding (being referred to as 'English' in Quebec province is somewhat unsettling, though). It wasn't always so.

American armies have invaded Canada twice-in the War of the Revolution and the War of 1812, both times for territory and loot, and have met defeat twice in the strategic aims of the invansions. Canandians defended themselves with skill and valor, though most of the credit usually went to the British regular forces which, especially in the War of 1812, robbed Canadian units of the credit due them.

There was a small, completely unprovoked third 'invasion' of Canada in November 1838 when a small number of American 'liberators' (read terrorists) crossed the Canadian frontier to help 'free' Canada 'from the British yoke.' This relatively unknown incident is stirringly retold by Canadian historian Don Graves in this excellent volume which should be read by all interested in the history of the North American continent and hopefully will spark an interest in Canadian military history, which has been largely ignored by most historians. It is a rich history of devotion, valor, and selflessness by a people small in number but who have proven themselves the equal to all, and the superior to many, on the battlefields of the British Commonwealth and Empire.

The author is an excellent storyteller, and his research is flawless and thorough. An authority on the Niagara frontier of the War of 1812, his books are a must for all military history buffs and enthusiasts. He has earned a reputation as the master historian of the small battle, and he certainly demonstrates that in this book.

In the late 1830s, Canada was undergoing tething troubles politically, undoubtedly searching for a national identity within the constraints of British suzerainty. Agressive Americans intent on expansion again thought they could take advantage of this state of affairs and gain some of Canada for the US under the guise of 'freeing' the Canadians. What did happen was a violent incursion onto Canadian territory along the St. Lawrence, the seizure and 'siege' of a windmill along the waterway, and a bloody end to the problem, Canadians and British rallying to drive out the invaders. Royal Navy units were used in the river to bombard the American's position, even engaging in a battle in the river with a steamer the Americans had hijacked.

Royal Marines, British Regulars, and Canadian militia turned out to counter the American 'adventurers, to face a foe better armed than they, and also equipped with artillery. The fighting was intense, sometimes desperate, but the invaders were defeated, and the prisoners taken were subjected to 'Her Majesty's Justice', being confined in the citadel of Fort Henry at Kingston before the final, inevitable disposition of their crimes.

There are detailed appendices in the volume which give lists of those individuals and units that participated in the fighting. The book is also well-illustrated and thoroughly documented. It is a pleasure to read and study and is highly recommended. Although it is from an 'unfashionable' period of military history, it also gives an interesting and uncommon perspective of the American concept of 'Manifest Destiny.' It might also prompt the more thoughtful into a reappraisal of the Texas movement for independence and the other Alamo.

I have studied the Battle of Windmill Point, the central subject of "Guns Across the River", for twenty-five years. I have visited the major landmarks in the event, the windmill, Fort Wellington and Fort Henry in Ontario and Ogdensburg, N.Y. and I have lectured on the incident. I have sifted through several archives in libraries and historical societies and I have found that while Donald E. Graves book has a definite Canadian slant that U.S. readers may find slightly disorienting (Americans are not the heroes in this book) the book engagingly recounts a forgotten 1837 instance of American terrorism visited upon Canadians. While I may quibble with the omission of some details, overall, the events are compellingly told and Graves skillfully integrates their significance into the larger picture.

I'll say openly that I'm no fan of Werewolf. Don't get me wrong, I understand the system and I've played my share of the characters, but werewolves always seem to be played a bit to slash and kill for my taste. Well, you can imagine my surprise when a friend lent me this book and told me, despite my less the cheerful comments on the subject of werewolves, that it wasn't like the others. He was definitely right. Not only are were-ravens extremely interesting, and the book it's self amusing. It's a wonderful change of style from the typical werewolf characters. Were-ravens aren't slash and kill characters, but they have other interesting skills that lend depth to any game I've seen them in. Not only would I suggest this book to were-creature fans, I would suggest it to people who aren't (like me) because if you think that were-wolves are all about death, be prepared for a wonderful surprise.

The wereravens are the messengers and scouts in the world of Werewolf. The history of the breed is narrated by a humorous Corax, who takes things that you think to be written in biblical style writing, and translates it into modern english (VERY funny)
I suggest this book to anyone who plays Werewolf but is getting tired of strictly garou and wants to add some color to the game.

Honestly--I picked up this book because I was going to be creating a character to help a friend out and I was immediately hooked! I read the thing from cover to cover and have several times since. The text is written with a great sense of humor and gives valuable insight to the workings of those wacky little were-ravens.